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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · mate · game · kid · rash · club · bound · mark

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rash — hasty
  4. kid — to tease
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — a group
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bound — tied together
  10. game — a match
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mark — a trace
  16. club — for golf
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bound — certain
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bound — obliged
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. club — for dancing
  24. kid — child

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com